


Small World

by unofficialNEET



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Wrong Number AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2018-07-21 21:25:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7405432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unofficialNEET/pseuds/unofficialNEET
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Levi texts the wrong number.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Eren felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. This was a strange occurrence. Eren didn’t text many people, and the two main people that he was known to send quick little messages to were both in class with him. His adopted sister Mikasa sat to his right, and his friend Armin was scribbling notes on his left. Who did that leave?

Maybe it was Jean asking if he’d seen Marco today, or maybe Connie asking to see his geology homework after he got out of psychology. Ymir had mentioned wanting to go to the gym at some point this week, too.

He slid his phone out of his pocket, ignoring the look he was getting from Mikasa. She was always nagging him about how he never paid any attention in class. They were in the very back row of the lecture hall; he wasn’t worried about getting in trouble with the professor.

**From: Unknown Number -** _Hey, Eyebrows gave me your new number. What the fuck happened to your old phone?_

Huh? Who calls someone ‘Eyebrows’?

**To: Unknown Number -** _Who is this?_

Eren typed out the message and hit send. He didn’t know anyone called Eyebrows.

**From: Unknown Number -** _Don’t be stupid. You have what? Three friends?_

What? Eren had more than three friends! These messages must not be meant for him, he thought. Instead of ignoring them, however, he decided to play along.

**To: Unknown Number -** _That’s not a very nice way to speak to your friends._

He smirked to himself as he hit send.

“Eren, who are you talking to? We’re in the middle of class. Why aren’t you taking notes?” Mikasa whispered.

“Just a friend,” Eren replied, ignoring the glare that she sent his way. “This class is ridiculously boring. I’ll just copy Armin’s notes later.”

Mikasa rolled her eyes as Eren’s phone vibrated again.

**From: Unknown Number -** _I’m not a nice person. You can’t possibly be surprised._

Geez, who the hell was he talking to?

**To: Unknown Number -** _You must not have very many friends, either._                                                                                     

**From: Unknown Number -** _Thanks, Captain Obvious. Now what happened?_

**To: Unknown Number -** _Considering that I’ve had this number for years, I couldn’t tell you. Who is Eyebrows?_

**From: Unknown Number -** _Is this not Shitty Glasses?_

Who was this and how the hell did they come up with these stupid nicknames for people?

**To: Unknown Number -** _Shitty Glasses? Wow, you really are a great friend._

Eren hoped that the stranger understood his sarcasm and didn’t just think that he was being mean. This back and forth between them was actually somewhat entertaining.

**From: Unknown Number -** _I’m going to take that as a no._

**To: Unknown Number -** _I don’t know who ‘Shitty Glasses’ is, but my name is Eren._

**From: Unknown Number -** _Well fuck. Wrong number, then._

Eren stared at his phone for a moment. Should he just leave it at that? Should he respond? There were twenty minutes left of his class. Oh, what the hell? He began typing another message.

 

*****

 

Levi deleted the number from Hanji’s contact, mentally cursing himself. He must’ve entered the number wrong. Either that or it was Erwin’s fault. Yeah, he’d go with that. Erwin must’ve told him the wrong number when he’d stopped by for a drink the day before.

He pulled up Erwin’s contact and started typing out a new message. He needed to text Hanji about their dinner plans or he’d never hear the end of it. Halfway through, his phone beeped.

**From: Unknown Number -** _What’s your name?_

Seriously? Was this person _still_ talking to him? He closed the message that he was typing to Erwin and decided to respond to the stranger.

**To: Unknown Number -** _Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to talk to strangers?_

He slid the phone into his pocket and walked out of the back storage room to check on how things were running in the shop. Petra was busy taking a customer’s order at the register while Eld and Gunther were whipping up some drinks by the various machines. It wasn’t a particularly busy time of day; it was barely two in the afternoon. The lunch rush had already passed and most people weren’t off of work yet.

He heard his phone beep again and sighed but pulled it out anyways.

**From: Unknown Number -** _Yeah, but how else do you make friends?_  

Was this person for real? A few minutes ago they were bantering about how Levi didn’t seem like a very nice person! He could tell that the person on the other end of these messages liked to joke with him, but they weren’t wrong. Levi wasn’t exactly the nicest person in the world. That’s not to say that he was mean, but he knew that he came off as very cold and standoffish. Not many people actually knew him well enough to call him a friend.

**To: Unknown Number -** _Weren’t you just implying that I’m an awful friend?_

**From: Unknown Number -** _Yeah. But I also just asked you for your name. I told you mine! What else am I going to put as your contact info?_

Right, right. Their name was Eren. He wondered how old this Eren was, what they looked like. Hell, with a name like that, he didn’t even know whether to assume Eren was a boy or a girl. Aaron was usually the spelling for boys, right? But wasn’t Erin how it was spelled for girls? Oh, who knows!

**To: Unknown Number -** _Contact info? You’re saving my number? We don’t even know each other._

**From: Unknown Number -** _Until you tell me your actual name, I have your contact name saved as Unfriendly Stranger._

He contemplated his next message. Levi could always stop texting Eren. He tapped his thumb against the screen. This was reminding him too much of when Hanji basically forced their friendship upon him when they were in college. While Hanji was certainly a handful and got on his nerves more often than not, he didn’t regret becoming friends with them.

And, if he was being honest, he might actually have been enjoying bantering back and forth with this stranger. He decided to save the contact, text Eren back and tell them his name. He supposed that it couldn’t hurt.

**To: Eren -** _Ha ha, very funny. It’s Levi._

**From: Eren -** _How are you, Levi?_

Why the fuck did he feel the edges of his lips pulling up? He looked up from his phone, hoping no one saw the ghost of a smile on his lips. His employees could handle things for a few more minutes, he decided as he headed back into the back room. 

**To: Eren -** _Mildly annoyed but also somewhat curious as to why you’re still texting me._

**From: Eren -** _I’m bored in my lecture class and you seem like an interesting person to talk to._

Shit, was he texting a minor? No, lecture classes were a college thing, right?

**To: Eren -** _Lecture? So you’re a student?_

**From: Eren -** _Yup, I go to Trost University. What do you do?_

His coffee shop wasn’t too far of a walk from Trost’s campus. It was the ideal location, really. They got traffic both from the businessmen that worked in all of the office buildings downtown as well as from the university students that attended school just a few minutes away.

**To: Eren -** _Shitty glasses works there. I own my own business._

**From: Eren -** _Really? Are they a professor? A secretary?_

He wasn’t sure how much he should tell a complete stranger about himself.

**To: Eren -** _A professor._

**From: Eren -** _That’s cool. So what kind of business do you own?_

**To: Eren -** _Guess._

 

*****

 

“Alright! We’ll stop there for the day. Remember, read chapter twelve for class on Tuesday. There may or may not be a quiz!” The professor told them as people started packing up.

“Fuck, I hate it when he does that,” Eren muttered. “Just tell us if there’s going to be a quiz!”

“Then that would defeat the purpose of a ‘pop’ quiz,” Armin laughed.

“Just study the chapter, Eren,” Mikasa told him.

Eren sighed and looked down at his phone. He wasn’t sure how to interpret Levi’s last message. Was it meant to be sarcastic? Playful? Eren wasn’t sure, but this was an opportunity to learn more about this stranger. For some reason, Eren found himself intrigued. Having Levi to talk to had certainly made his psychology lecture a little more bearable.

**To: Levi -** _Hmm…. A tattoo parlor?_

It was an actual guess. Levi struck him as the intimidating type. Maybe he had tattoos and piercings? Eren could totally see that.

“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” Mikasa asked, snapping Eren away from his thoughts as they stood up from their seats in the back of the lecture hall. All three of them were officially done with classes for the day.

“I have a few hours before my film club meeting,” Armin mused.

They turned to Eren, who shrugged and shoved his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. “Nothing. What about you, Mika?”

“I need to stop by Titan Sports and pick up a new mouth guard before lacrosse later,” she said, sliding her arms into the sleeves of her jacket. “Want to come with?”

“Sure!” Armin smiled.

“Yeah, I’ll go,” Eren agreed.

His phone buzzed in his pocket as they headed towards the sports store. He fell in step behind Mikasa and Armin, who were chattering animatedly about some new show that had been added to Netflix recently, and read the message.

**From: Levi -** _Not even close_.

Shit, he totally thought he had hit the nail on the head.

**To: Levi -** _What about an insurance company?_

**From: Levi -** _God, no._

“Eren? We’re here,” Mikasa called to him. 

He looked up from his phone, only to realize that he had completely walked past the store. Whoops. “Sorry, I was just texting.”

“Who were you talking to?” Mikasa asked, pulling her red scarf away from her face as they entered the warm store. Eren had given her that scarf for her first birthday that she spent with their family. She wore it pretty much all the time. 

“Oh, uh, no one special,” he replied. “So, where are the mouth guards?”

She looked at him, brows furrowing, but let it go and went to go find what she needed.

Five minutes later, they were walking back towards campus, Mikasa’s bag tucked safely in her bag. The walk there hadn’t taken them nearly as long as they thought it would.

**To: Levi -** _What about a bookstore?_

**From: Levi -** _As lovely as that sounds, I do not own a bookstore._

**To: Levi -** _You like to read?_  

“So, Eren,” Armin began, causing Eren to look up. “You never did tell us who you were talking to earlier.”

Eren immediately shoved his phone in his pocket. “It’s just a friend.”

Mikasa and Armin exchanged a glance before looking back at him. Oh, fuck. The interrogation was about to begin. Eren didn’t blame them; Mikasa was a little overprotective sometimes (okay, all the time), and Armin was just a naturally curious person, always having to know everything about everything. 

“Who’s up for coffee?” Eren exclaimed before either of them could say anything. He pointed to a shop sign ahead that read ‘Magnolia Coffee’.

“You don’t like coffee,” Mikasa pointed out.

“But you guys do,” Eren grinned. “And I’m sure that they have hot chocolate.” He didn’t even wait for their answer; he went straight for the door, holding it open and gesturing for them to walk inside. “My treat!”

Mikasa rolled her eyes but walked in anyways, followed by Armin.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been in here before,” Armin said, taking in their surroundings. The shop certainly had a cozy feel. To the right were a number of small wrought-iron tables that looked like they belonged outside of a café in Paris, a few of which were occupied by customers talking, working on laptops or reading books. An exposed-brick fireplace housed a small fire that kept the place at a temperature differed greatly from the wind chill outside. Directly ahead, past the tables and across the ornate area rug that was laid out across the wood floor was a large, dark wood counter that separated the register and the drink machines from the rest of the space. The walls were painted a light beige color, and the minimal decorating, like the small selection of art on the walls, were mostly in neutral, earthy tones. Yes, it was definitely cozy, Eren thought, but he also noticed that it was incredibly clean. The wood floor practically gleamed and there wasn’t a piece of trash in sight.

A petite strawberry blonde woman smiled warmly at them from behind the register. “Hello, welcome to Magnolia’s!”

“Hello,” Armin greeted, walking up to the register with Mikasa on his heels.

Eren took the opportunity to pull his phone back out of his pocket. He had two new message notifications. The first, much to his dismay, was Sasha asking him if he wanted to go to dinner at the university dining hall with her and some of their other friends tonight. He decided to reply later and check his second message.

**From: Levi -** _I love to read, so much so that it’d be problematic if I did own a bookstore. All I’d want to do all day is pull books off of the shelves and read._

That was the longest message that Levi had sent him so far.


	2. Chapter 2

Levi walked out of the back room carrying a box of various syrups to replace the ones that were almost out behind the counter. Petra was busy taking an order at the register, and another one of his employees, Gunther, was getting started on a drink.

Three kids stood at the register; college students, by the look of it. There was a short blonde kid with a haircut that reminded him of a coconut and a pretty girl with obvious Asian roots reflected in her dark eyes and silky black hair. Her gaze, however, fell not on Petra but on the boy that stood behind the pair, not paying one bit of attention to either of them.

The kid looked like he just rolled out of bed. His hair was in need of a serious brushing and the white t-shirt underneath his grey hoodie was incredibly wrinkled. The only thing that told Levi that this kid was not wearing his pajamas around town were the dark wash skinny jeans that clung to his finely sculpted legs like a second skin. He had a black book bag slung over one shoulder that confirmed he was a student, but one look at his defined jawline and sharp cheekbones proved that he belonged in college, not high school.

He was focused intently on his phone, a smile on his face. It was one of those stupid smiles, the kind that creep onto your face without you knowing. Levi would never admit it, but he found this incredibly cute.

The girl elbowed him lightly, a questioning look on her face. She must have noticed it, too. The boy ignored her and said something to Petra that Levi didn’t catch while he tried compose his face, but he was still smiling when he looked back down to his phone after ordering.

Levi felt his own phone buzz in his pocket, but he decided to ignore it in favor of observing the attractive boy standing in line at his coffee shop.

A second later, the boy in front of him looked up. His gaze darted around the front counter until it met Levi’s. He was completely taken aback by the boy’s eyes. They were huge, vibrant and alive, not to mention a gorgeous teal color that was only magnified by the contrast of his sun-kissed skin.

The boy’s eyes went wide and he blushed before looking away quickly.

A large shape in his peripheral vision diverted his attention to the doorway. Erwin strode into the small shop, dressed in his usual sharp suit. He was, as always, wearing his weird turquoise bolo tie, but Erwin somehow managed to pull it off.

The boy in the hoodie paid for all three drinks, and the trio moved to sit at a table near one of the windows. Levi silently watched them as he unpacked the box of syrups until Erwin stepped up to the register and blocked his view.

Erwin. There was something Levi had completely forgotten to do today, and the only thing he remembered about it was that it involved Erwin. Then it clicked. “Erwin! Fuck, I completely forgot to text you,” Levi cursed.                                                                                         

“Text me? About what?”

“I have the wrong number for Hanji,” he explained. “I promised I would go to dinner with them tonight, but Eld got sick so I have to work until close. Can’t leave the shop without a manager.”

“Okay,” Erwin nodded, handing Petra his credit card to pay for his order. He always got the same thing, a large cup of Magnolia’s house blend. “I’ll just text their number to you this time. I’m sure they’ll understand. 

“I hope so,” Levi muttered as Erwin picked up his phone and pressed the screen a few times. After a moment, Levi’s phone buzzed again in his pocket. He took it out and glanced at his notifications. “Thanks, Erwin.”

“No problem,” Erwin smiled, pocketing his phone and wallet before taking a seat at his usual table near the fireplace. He was one of the two people that Levi called his friends, the other being the notorious Hanji. Erwin was the CEO of a big security firm that had its headquarters in downtown Trost, a few blocks away from Magnolia’s, but Levi had met him when they were both studying at the local university.

Levi saved the number Erwin sent him and quickly texted Hanji about the rain check before he forgot. Then, while he had his phone out, he decided to read his new message from Eren.

 **From: Eren -** _Did the mysterious Levi just tell me something about himself?_

 **To: Eren -** _Don’t make me regret it. Any other guesses?_  

He sent the message and looked up just as Gunther announced three drink orders. He watched the black-haired girl get up and grab them from where Gunther had set them on the counter. One look past her showed Levi the beautiful-eyed boy still focused on his phone, which was partially hidden under the table. The blonde coconut boy was saying something but he was definitely being ignored.

Levi’s phone buzzed again.

 **From: Eren -** _I could see you owning a coffee shop, maybe._

That was fast. He wondered what made the stranger think that. He typed his reply quickly and hit send.

 **To: Eren -** _Really?_

He didn’t even get the chance to slide his phone back into his pocket; it vibrated while it was still in his hand.

 **From: Eren -** _Yeah, like the one I’m at now._

Levi looked up and around the shop, wondering if the stranger was in his coffee shop. Levi knew that his shop certainly wasn’t the only one in the area. There were two other independently owned shops that sold coffee and tea within a five mile radius, not to mention at least three locations of a certain mega-chain that Levi didn’t even like to think about.

He wasn’t sure whether or not to confirm or deny Eren’s guess. How much did he want this stranger to know about him? He didn’t think the kid would guess so quickly.

 **To: Eren -** _I’m more of a hot tea kind of guy._

 

*****

 

Eren leaned back against the pillows on his bed, feeling completely exhausted. It’d been a long day.

Mikasa and Armin had been so annoying at the coffee shop. He couldn’t tell them that he was texting a total stranger named Levi; Mikasa would definitely go all mother hen on him. Ever since their mom died when he was twelve, Mikasa had sort of stepped in and made sure Eren was always taken care of. She made sure he did everything from his homework to his laundry. Their father was never home, so he guessed that _someone_ had to step up and be responsible. He didn’t mind it most of the time – in fact, he actually really appreciated it when he was younger – but when it got like this, he just wanted her to leave him alone.

He was so busy being lectured about how he needed to spend less time on his phone in class and more time paying attention that he didn’t get nearly enough time to appreciate the gorgeous man standing behind the counter. 

He’d looked up from his phone after he ordered his hot chocolate and was met with a pair of intense gray eyes observing him. The man was short, probably even shorter than Armin, but definitely at least a few years older than him. His jet-black hair was fashioned into an under-cut, with the top neatly parted just off center and long enough to have strands falling into his eyes but the underside shaved short. It was a hairstyle that not many people were able to pull off, but it fit this man perfectly; the severe cut complimented the smooth angles of his face. He stood by a door leading to what looked like a storage room with a box in his hands. Eren couldn’t help but notice the muscles in his arms rippling underneath the sleeves of his black long-sleeve shirt.

Eren had looked away quickly, knowing that his face had already begun to heat up. Had the man been staring at him? Why? Sadly, he’d only been able to steal a few glances at the beautiful man the entire time that they’d been at the shop. While Eren was hounded by his friends, he’d stolen glances as the man spoke with a tall blonde man with another undercut that kind of reminded him of Captain America and then busied himself with helping the spikey-haired employee make drinks for customers.

All too soon, Mikasa and Armin decided it was time to head back to campus so that they had time to get ready for their meetings. As they headed for the door, Eren turned back to look at the man one more time to find him looking Eren’s way, as well. Their eye contact was brief, lasting only moment before Eren looked away, embarrassed to be caught looking. In that moment, however, Eren decided that he had found his new hangout. It wouldn’t be suspicious for him to go in every now and then, get a drink and do some homework on his laptop, right?

Eren sighed, grabbing a blanket and throwing it over his legs before pulling out his phone. He hadn’t been able to text Levi back after his last message because he didn’t want to face more questions from his friends. Now, luckily, he was alone. Armin was his roommate but he was at a meeting, leaving Eren the room to himself.

He read the last message Levi had sent over again a few times. So Levi liked books and tea… Eren found himself wondering if he could find out more about the stranger. 

 **To: Levi -** _I could totally see that. What else should I know about you?_

He held the phone to his chest and stared up at the ceiling. After a few minutes, his phone let him know that he had a new message.

**From: Levi -** _I'm really not that interesting._

Maybe the fact that he thought so is what made him even _more_ interesting.

 **To: Levi -** _I don’t care. I know that you own your own business and you like reading and hot tea, but tell me about yourself! How old are you? What are your friends like?_

**From: Levi -** _Why do you want to know any of that?_

 **To: Levi -** _I wouldn’t mind knowing more about the person I’m talking to. You seem interesting to me._

 **From: Levi -** _You don’t HAVE to talk to me, you know._

He wanted to, though. Levi was fun to talk to, and it actually made him really happy that Levi was playing along and continued to text him back.

 **To: Levi -** _I know but I am anyways. So tell me!!_

 **From: Levi -** _I’m twenty-nine. My two friends are Shitty Glasses and Eyebrows. I’m sure that you can infer the rest._

Eren wasn’t surprised at all by Levi’s age. He seemed like a pretty mature guy, especially if he owned his own place. He found himself contemplating what Levi might look like. What color were his eyes? His hair? Was he tall and lanky? Carry a little extra weight in some places? Did he live in suits? Occasionally wear t-shirts with dorky sayings?

He wondered if he’d ever seen Levi around town. He wondered if Levi would ever want to meet him. If they kept texting, it’d happen eventually, right? Eren certainly wouldn’t mind it. He always did enjoy meeting new people.

 **To: Levi -** _So… one of them has really amazing eyebrows and the other wears glasses? That’s all I got. Oh, and they must be really nice and patient._

 **From: Levi -** _Where did you get that? Shitty Glasses is crazy. Eyebrows is just… Eyebrows._

 **To: Levi -** _You said that you weren’t a very nice person, but they’re friends with you anyways. Do you want to hear about me?_

 **From: Levi -** _Sure._

Eren thought a moment. What should he tell Levi about him? He didn’t want to bore the man with his entire life story.

 **To: Levi -** _I’m eighteen, almost nineteen. I go to Trost University. I guess I have a pretty large group of friends, but I mostly hang out with my adopted sister and my best friend, Armin. Oh, and in case you were wondering, I’m a boy. I know my name is spelled a little weird._

 **From: Levi -** _Okay. I’ll admit that I wasn’t completely sure._

Hmmm, he saw an opening to learn more about Levi and decided to take it.

 **To: Levi -** _Yeah, just thought I’d clarify. I wouldn’t want to make your girlfriend suspicious or anything._  

 **From: Levi -** _Ha ha, very funny._

 **To: Levi -** _Oh, sorry! You’re single?_

 **From: Levi -** _And gay._

Eren stared at his phone screen, suddenly aware that his heart was beating louder than usual. He could feel it in his ears. As he stared, trying to figure out what to say in response, another text from Levi came through.

 **From: Levi -** _If you have a problem with that then you should just stop texting me now._

Eren fumbled with his phone, typing as quickly as he could.

 **To: Levi -** _No! I have no problem with that at all! I’m sorry that I assumed. I’m the same way. Well, kind of. I’m pansexual._

_*****_

 

“Levi? Are you okay?”

“What do you mean?” He asked, looking up. Petra had paused her cleaning and was looking over at him with worried eyes.

“You were staring at your phone screen with your mouth open,” Petra explained, gesturing to the little device in his hands.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Levi responded. And it was. He was just surprised, that was all.

 **To: Eren -** _Oh really?_

**From: Eren -** _I don’t usually talk about it, but yeah. I just like who I like. Doesn’t really matter to me what their gender is._

Maybe this kid was more interesting than Levi originally thought.                

  **To: Eren -** _Huh. What about you, then? Nobody is going to come key my car because their boyfriend is texting me, right?_

He didn’t know he was holding his breath until he let it go when Eren’s reply came through.

 **From: Eren -** _LOL, no. My sister is pretty overprotective, though, but it’s nothing to worry about._

The fact that Eren was pansexual didn’t change anything. Levi wasn’t delusional. He wasn’t suddenly conjuring up romantic fantasies about the stranger that he now knew at least had the capacity to be attracted to him. He just wasn’t like that.

That’s what he told himself, anyways.

He was, however, admittedly realizing that he didn’t mind talking to the brat. It was weird and a little exciting to be talking to someone new and mysterious, someone that he knew next to nothing about. He could walk right past the kid on the street and have no idea it was him, and vice versa. Maybe it’d be good for Levi to somewhat anonymously talk to someone about things. Hanji and Erwin were good listeners, but Hanji was a little too crazy to be trusted giving advice and Erwin’s approach was always way too diplomatic and political for Levi’s liking.

He sighed, taking the distraction as opportunity to look around the shop and make sure everything was organized and running smoothly. He realized that he’d been pretty useless all day. Yeah, it’d been a pretty slow day, but he wasn’t normally like this. He didn’t mind texting people, but he’d always thought that messages could wait until he was off work. Hell, he’d even criticized Oluo for being on his phone a few times, and now there he was, eyes practically glued to the screen. Really, the only time he’d spent away from his phone was when the cute boy with the pretty eyes had been in the shop with his friends earlier that day.

Now that was someone that he could see himself fantasizing about, although he’d never admit it. He wondered if he’d see him again.

He then remembered that he was in the middle of a conversation with someone and texted them back.

 **To: Levi -** _I guess that’s good. So what are you majoring in at Trost?_


	3. Chapter 3

Eren fell asleep texting Levi.

It definitely seemed like the man was opening up to him, like Levi actually wanted to talk to him. Eren wasn’t quite sure what brought on the change but he was happy because he found that he really liked talking to Levi. The conversation came easy. Eren told him all about how his major was currently undecided and how he had no idea what he was going to do with his life. Levi, on the other hand, told him about his own college experience. He’d graduated from Trost and majored in business. He now ran his own, obviously, and Eren still had no idea what kind of business it was.

He woke up the next morning feeling content, despite the fact that his alarm was blaring at him and it was only eight in the morning. His only class of the day was at nine. Part of him was glad to get it over with and have the rest of the day to do whatever he pleased, but the other half of him couldn’t believe that he hadn’t tried scheduling it for a more reasonable hour.

He shut off his alarm and looked at his phone. He had two new messages from Levi, one answering a question that Eren had asked him last night before he fell asleep, and the second assuming that Eren had fallen asleep and wishing him a goodnight. Eren couldn’t help but smile at that one as he sent Levi a text.

 **To: Levi** \- _Good morning!_

Much to Eren’s surprise, the reply came almost instantly. Why was Levi up so early in the morning? Eren would probably sleep until at least eleven if he didn’t have class.

 **From: Levi** \- _Morning, brat._

 **To: Levi** \- _You’re up pretty early. Is it because of your job?_

 **From: Levi** _\- Yes. Any more guesses?_  

 **To: Levi** \- _Hmmm….you own a nightclub that just closed for the day?_

The guess what a shot in the dark. A lot of jobs required people to get up early, right?

 **From: Levi** _\- No. I’m not one for the club scene._  

**To: Levi** _\- Same._

**From: Levi** _\- What are you up to at 8am? Class?_  

**To: Levi** _\- Yup. I have to go to geology at 9. Gen ed classes suck!_

**From: Levi** _\- I have to agree with you there._

He saw the reply as he pulled on a possibly clean (they passed the smell test; that’s all that matters, right?) pair of jeans and smiled to himself, an unusual sight for Friday morning at 8:15am. 

As Eren got dressed, he couldn’t help but wonder if he would ever be able to meet the man on the other end of the text messages. They were getting along pretty well, so maybe they actually had potential to become friends in real life. Deciding that it couldn’t hurt, he went ahead and asked.

**To: Levi** _\- I’m just curious, but would you ever want to meet?_

The instant replies stopped.

 

*****

 

Levi had been staring at the screen of his phone for a good ten minutes trying to decide how to respond to Eren’s latest text. He’d received it a good hour ago and still had no clue. He’d pocket his phone and then take it back out just to stare at it some more before pocketing it again.

The sudden shift in their conversation that morning had caught Levi off-guard. He had suspected the brat to respond back and ask him more about his own experience at Trost, not ask if he wanted to meet up.

Levi wasn’t exactly inclined to do so. He was still warming up to the idea of simply talking to the kid; he didn’t want to ruin that by meeting him. What if he was even more obnoxious in person?

“Fuck it,” he muttered. Taking one last glance at the open chat, he decided to just go ahead and answer. 

**To: Eren** _\- Why?_

**From: Eren** _\- I don’t know, to put a face to a name? To know exactly who we’re talking to?_

**To: Eren** _\- That defeats the purpose of talking to a stranger, doesn’t it?_

**From: Eren** _\- I don’t really consider you a stranger anymore._

Levi sighed. 

**To: Eren** _\- You don’t know me, Eren. I think it would just be better if we stuck to texting._

There, he sent it. Hopefully it wouldn’t make things weird between them.

Wait, what?

If Eren didn’t like it then Eren could just stop texting him, simple as that. But Levi found that he didn’t think that he wanted that to happen. What the hell? Why would he mind if the brat stopped talking to him?

Maybe it was because talking to Eren was a break from his usual monotonous routine? Maybe he kind of enjoyed it?

Maybe.

 

*****

 

It became a routine. He woke up and texted Levi. He went to class and texted Levi whenever he had a spare moment. He’d fall asleep texting Levi.

The man certainly wasn’t forthcoming with information, but when he did tell Eren little bits about himself, it meant a lot more. He was intriguing. A faceless, mysterious man that he really enjoyed bickering with and talking to. They got along extremely well. Levi was a very blunt, straightforward guy, and sometimes his advice was exactly what Eren needed.

It was about three weeks after first texting Levi that he realized he was developing feelings for the man. It was kind of sad, if he was being honest, because he knew that Levi had no interest in meeting him and would probably think his feelings were silly due to the fact that all they did was text each other. Eren tried to calm himself down, to not let his heart flutter every time his phone vibrated, but every time he talked to him he found himself liking Levi a little bit more.

In an effort to distract himself from his growing feelings for Levi, he would try and make it to Magnolia’s at least two or three times a week. Sometimes he would go with Armin and Mikasa when they weren’t busy, but more often than not he went by himself. He had established a favorite table by the window and knew exactly how much change to carry in his pocket to cover his chocolate but he’d yet to talk to the man he’d had his eye on. Except for one or two times that Eren had gone into the shop, the man always seemed to be there but was rarely ever stationed at the cash register. More often than not he was making drinks or carrying boxes out from the back to stock the drink making stations.

He’d be lying to himself if he didn’t go to the little coffee shop not to see the attractive man with the undercut. Sure, the hot chocolate was delicious, but so was Trost University’s library café’s hot chocolate. Trost University’s library café, however, didn’t have the gorgeous man that worked at Magnolia’s.

 He’d seen that man on Trost University’s campus once before though, walking with who he assumed to be one of the science professors because of the white lab coat. Well, at least he thought it was the guy from Magnolia’s. They had the same hair color and style. He’d only seen him from behind, okay? But the distraction proved helpful when he found himself looking for the man whenever he was walking around campus; it kept him from thinking so much about Levi.

 

*****

 

The first time Levi got the chance to talk to the boy was on a Tuesday between shifts. Petra had just left for the day, and it would be another ten minutes before Eld came to replace her.

“What can I get for you?” Levi asked as the boy walked up to the register.

The boy’s beautiful eyes glimmered with surprise. He opened his mouth and then closed it again before taking a deep breath and finally announcing his order. “A hot chocolate, please.”

Levi grabbed a cup from the stack and uncapped a sharpie before noting “HC” on the side of the cup. He looked up. “Would you like that with whipped cream?”

“Of course,” the boy grinned. His smile was almost as dazzling as his eyes, but the combination of the two was breathtaking when one reached the other.

“That’ll be three twenty one,” Levi informed him, trying his best to keep his voice steady as he pushed a few buttons on the register.

He quickly processed the boy’s order, made the drink and tried to act nonchalant when their fingers accidentally brushed when Levi handed him his hot chocolate. The boy’s cheeks were impossibly red as he retreated to his seemingly favorite table by the window for the rest of the visit.

 

Two days later, the boy was at Magnolia’s again. This time, however, he wasn’t alone. He wasn’t with the two friends that Levi had first seen him with, either. No, he was with someone Levi had never seen before.

Another young man sat across from him, probably around the same age as the gorgeous brat. He had a long face, but that wasn’t to say it wasn’t attractive; his chiseled bone structure and dark gaze made sure of that. His hair was certainly interesting; he had a two-toned undercut that was lighter on top than it was underneath. Levi wasn’t exactly a fan of the style but the kid made it work.

He had nothing on the brat sitting across from him in Levi’s eyes, though.

They looked pretty familiar with each other, judging by the way that they spoke. The brat was all laughs and smiles. The new boy had a nervous air about him, though. What was he nervous about? Did he like the jewel-eyed boy? Were they on a date?

Fuck. Levi didn’t like the way that the thought of that pulled on his heart. Did his chest actually physically hurt? He couldn’t be sure. Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

He didn’t realize how hard he was scrubbing the counter until Petra put a delicate hand on his arm. “Levi? Everything alright?”

Levi felt his shoulders sag and brushed her off. “I’m fine.” And he was. Maybe. He was staring at the pair again; both of them were laughing about some comment the long-faced boy had made. Levi scowled.

Petra followed his gaze. “Oh, Levi. Is that what you’re upset about?”

“I’m not upset.”

“Sure,” Petra nodded, taking the rag from him. “You know, he’s been coming in a lot lately.”

Levi grunted in acknowledgement, staring down at the counter.

“He seems like a nice guy. Why don’t you try talking to him?” Petra suggested with a smile.

“Why would I do that?”

She sighed. “Levi, whenever he comes in you can barely tear your eyes from him.”

“Tch,” he frowned. He couldn’t deny it, though. He just hated himself for being so obvious about it. He found the brat attractive, so what? “He’s just something to look at.”

“Levi, I’ve _never_ seen you show interest in _anyone_. Next time he comes in you should try talking to him,” Petra urged. “You never know what could happen.”

What would she do if she knew that he was actually interested in two people?

Wait... _what_?

“I’ve talked to him,” Levi argued. “I took his order the other day.”

She rolled her eyes, a knowing smile on her face. “That’s not what I mean and you know it.”

Levi didn’t reply. He didn’t need to. He knew that she was right; he just didn’t want to admit it to himself.

 

 

When he got home that night, Levi made himself a cup of tea Levi thought back to what Petra had said, realizing that she was right. Levi had never really been interested in anyone before, and now here he was, fanaticizing about a boy whose name he didn’t know and falling asleep texting another boy he’d never met.

His life had been pretty cut and dry for a while. After college he’d fallen into a routine that fit him well. He had two friends that annoyed him to death but also gave him a sense of belonging. He owned a coffee shop that did well enough to pay the bills every month that was operated by capable employees that he could actually stand being around. He’d felt content. Not happy, per say, but content.                                                              

Ever since he’d accidentally texted Eren things had been different. Emotions that he hadn’t touched in years, ones that he’d locked up and left to rot had been resurfacing. It was confusing. Talking to Eren was different than talking to Hanji or Erwin, who had pried him open and became permanent fixtures in his life years ago. With Eren, there was no prying; it was Levi’s choice. He _wanted_ Eren to understand him, to know him. He didn’t even know what Eren looked like, but he found himself attracted to him anyways, to _who_ he was.

He came to the conclusion that he did really feel something for Eren, this boy that he’d never met, and it scared him. It terrified him because what if Eren didn’t feel the same?

He knew that his crush on the boy with the ridiculously fascinating eyes was pointless. It wasn’t going anywhere. He didn’t know that boy, but he did know Eren, who was just as beautiful on the inside as that boy was on the outside.

 

*****

 

**To: Levi** _– So how was your day?_

**From: Levi** – _Same old, same old. Yours_  

 **To: Levi** – _Okayish. Horse-face was even civil today, but I think that’s just because he wanted advice on how to ask one of our friends out._

He’d told Levi plenty about Horse-face. In fact, he almost felt bad that he complained about how annoying Jean was to Levi so much. Today Jean had been a lot nicer, but that was only because he was nervous about asking Marco out. It was no secret to practically everyone but Marco that Jean had been crushing on him forever. He was planning on asking him to come to one of his performances and out for dinner after.

 **From: Levi** – _What are you, some relationship guru?_

 **To: Levi** – _Hey! I’ve seen a lot of romantic comedies, okay? I’m practically an expert._

 **From: Levi** – _Sure, brat._

 **To: Levi** – _What about you?_

Eren could feel his heart pounding in his chest as stared at the sent message on his phone screen. Why had he even asked? The answer to this question would probably just make him jealous, but he couldn’t resist asking.

The idea of Levi with someone else shouldn’t make him jealous, though. It shouldn’t even faze him; he didn’t even know what the man looked like! If Levi knew, he would scoff and insist that it’s ridiculous. Eren had to get over liking him like that or else he would just keep feeing worse.

 **From: Levi** – _What about me what?_

 **To: Levi** – _Have you had a lot of experiences with relationships?_

 **From: Levi** – _I’ve read a lot of books, so I suppose so._

Oh. A totally unexpected yet totally Levi answer. It seemed that Levi didn’t have much experience with relationships, either; Eren almost felt ashamed at how happy that little tidbit of information made him. It made Eren actually giggle a bit before he ultimately sighed and reprimanded himself for getting all giddy about it.

 **To: Levi** – _Then you’re a relationship guru, too!_

 **From: Levi** – _Oh? Then do you need any advice from me?_

 ** _To: Levi_** – _Maybe…_

 

*****

 

Levi didn’t even know how the conversation had got to that point, but there he was, book abandoned in his lap, tea going cold on the end-table and his phone in his hands, eyes glued to the screen.

 **To: Eren** – _What is it?_  

This was it. Eren was into someone. He could feel his throat constricting. 

He’d finally decided that Eren was worth going out of his comfort zone for, worth meeting in person pursuing. Levi even allowed himself to entertain the idea that Eren might be into him, even if just for a moment. How perfect would that be?

The odds were slim, but he couldn’t help but hope…

**From: Eren** _– Well…there’s this guy I’ve been sort of crushing on. I don’t even know if he would be interested in me, though. I know it’s pathetic but I don’t even know his name._

Levi felt something grip at his heart. It wasn’t him, then. He hadn’t been expecting it to be, but still. To suspect was one thing, but to have conformation was another.

**To: Eren** _\- I’ve been there._

**From: Eren** _\- Really? Do you have any advice?_

Levi sighed, running a hand down his face. He could tell him to give it up, discourage him and hope that he’d develop feelings for Levi instead, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that, to take away the kid’s happiness for his own.

 **To: Eren** _\- You should talk to him_.

He put the phone facedown on his end-table and pulled the covers up over his face. The phone vibrated against the wooden surface a few moments later, but he chose to ignore it.

 

*****

 

A few miles away, Eren set his phone down on the mattress next to him after replying to Levi. He felt conflicted. Why hadn’t he just told Levi that he might kind of like him? Because Levi would think that was crazy, that’s why. He’d never even met the man; how could he have feelings for someone he’d never met? That’s what Levi would say, and the thought of Levi rejecting him hurt too much to even consider it.

Hell, he probably had a better chance with the coffee shop worker. Which is exactly why he’d told Levi about him.

Maybe Eren would take his advice. Maybe he’d go to Magnolia’s the next day and strike up a conversation with the gorgeous man that worked there, maybe ask him for his number. What’s the worst that could happen?


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Levi woke up feeling awful, like he’d been run over by a train in his sleep or something. He didn’t usually get much sleep, but that night had been even worse than usual. It felt like he’d tossed and turned all night. The sun was just beginning to peek through the gap in his curtains when he’d finally been able to fall asleep.

His alarm went off two hours later, and while Levi wanted nothing more than to call in sick and put Eld in charge for the day, he decided to suck it up and get ready for work.

Neither Petra nor Eld dared to comment when Levi walked into work ten minutes late. He knew he looked like shit. His hair, usually perfectly parted and combed through, was a mess. His shirt was wrinkled, and on top of that he’d forgotten the black apron with Magnolia’s logo printed on the bottom left corner that he usually wore around his waist. All in all, he looked like he’d just rolled out of bed, and not in the cute way that the beautiful-eyed brat usually did.

Speaking of brats, he hadn’t checked his messages since he sent that text to Eren the night before. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to. He didn’t like the way that he was feeling; it was a foreign emotion, but he suspected that it was something along the lines of hurt.

But of course Eren had his eye on someone else. He’d never met Levi, after all, and Levi only had himself to blame for that.

As the day dragged on, Levi was convinced that it couldn’t get any worse. Not only did he feel like shit, but due to an inventory issue they were out of cinnamon dolce and one of the espresso machines had decided to have a complete meltdown. Poor Petra was obviously overwhelmed but trying so hard to keep her upbeat, optimistic attitude. Eld was calm and quiet, as always, despite the disaster that the day was turning out to be. At least Oluo wasn’t scheduled to work that day; his non-stop talking would probably be enough to push Levi over the edge.

It was around six thirty that the bright-eyed brat showed up, the black-haired girl and mushroom boy in tow. Petra took their order and they settled at their usual table by the window. Levi didn’t have too many opportunities to observe the boy and his friends, not that he was in any particular mood to; he was feeling pretty down and was quite busy trying to repair the espresso machine.

After a few moments he noticed Petra staring at him from the corner of his eye. He waited a moment before turning to face her. “What is it, Petra?”

“He keeps looking over here, sir,” she whispered, failing to keep the smile from her face as she did so.

Levi rolled his eyes. “He’s probably wondering why you keep staring at him.”

“I’m not,” she insisted. “He’s looking at _you_.”

“Yeah, right,” he muttered, glancing over at his table. His gaze slid over the boy’s companions who seemed wrapped up in their own conversation and landed on a pair of blue-green eyes staring right at him. The boy’s eyes widened and he ducked his head, his skin flushing pink as he did so. “Oh.”

“I told you!” Petra giggled.

He sighed and turned his attention back to the machine. “Let it go. How about you go get Eld to grab you a box of our mugs from the back so I can restock our display?” Eld was in the process of doing inventory, so he was already done with the pile of boxes back there anyways.

“Sure,” she replied, bouncing away and leaving Levi in peace for just a few more minutes.

Levi managed to troubleshoot the machine and get it working again. It seemed that his shitty day was looking a little brighter, at least. The appliances that he had in his shop were all top of the line; his wallet would hate to have to replace any of them.

He was whipping up a test espresso just to make sure that everything was running smoothly when he heard Petra reemerge with the box he’d asked for.

“Boss?” Petra said hesitantly.

“Yeah?” He grunted, looking over his shoulder at her.

Petra had the box propped against her hip with one hand, using the other to point behind him and trying but failing to be discreet about it at all.

He turned to find the bright-eyed boy standing on the other side of the counter, staring at him with wide eyes that reminded Levi of a deer caught in headlights. He offered Levi a hesitant smile. Levi barely even processed when Petra set the box on the counter beside him and disappeared back into the backroom.

“Hi,” Levi breathed. The boy had been a constant at the shop for almost three weeks but hadn’t spoken with Levi once aside from that one time that Levi took his order. “How can I help you?”

“I’m sorry,” the boy said. “This might sound really weird, but I… uh, I was wondering, if-“

“Eren! We’re going to be late!” The black-haired girl called from already halfway out the door.

“Shit. Ah, never mind,” the boy, Eren said, his face definitely red now. He turned and made a dash for the door, leaving Levi staring after him. Wait, had she just called him Eren? Was that really the beautiful boy’s name?

His eyes widened. He wanted to call out, ask this Eren – or Aaron or however he spelled his name – to wait, but him and his friends were already out of sight. Levi just sighed, picking up the box of mugs that Petra had left on the counter for him and walking over to the display where they sold their very own Magnolia’s travel mugs, coffee mugs and tea cups.

There were a lot of people with the name Eren. Who knows if the boy even spelt it like his Eren? Wait, _his_ Eren? God, he needed to get himself together. But what if? What if, all this time, the boy that kept returning to his shop was the Eren that he’d been talking to for the past few weeks? What if the man that Eren had been crushing on… the mysterious man that Levi had been so jealous of…?

Levi set the box on a nearby empty table and whipped his phone out of his pocket quickly to check his messages. Eren had messaged him not even a minute ago.

**From: Eren** _\- I have the worst luck, I swear._

**To: Eren** _\- Why do you say that?_

**From: Eren** _\- I was going to talk to him! But I only got like one word out before my sister was bitching at me about getting to our friend’s performance on time._

Levi’s hands were shaking. It couldn’t be. That would be too crazy, too coincidental. He wasn’t sure if he believed in fate, but he couldn’t ignore this.

There was only one way to figure it out for sure.

**To: Eren** _\- I have to tell you something._

**From: Eren** _\- What?_

**To: Eren** _\- It’d be best if I did it in person._

 

*****

 

Eren stared at his screen, dumbfounded. If Mikasa hadn’t been dragging him into the club forcibly with a firm grip on his wrist then he probably would’ve stopped dead in his tracks.

Levi wanted to meet him. _Levi_ wanted to meet _him_. In person. It felt like months ago that Levi had mentioned that it would probably be better if they didn’t meet in person. Eren had assumed that he’d meant that it’d never happen. What made Levi change his mind?

**To: Levi** _\- Okay. When and where?_

This day was proving to be a total hurricane. First Mikasa had totally embarrassed him in front of the man at the coffee shop. He probably would’ve embarrassed himself anyways without her interference, but he didn’t even get the chance to do so or even ask for the man’s name. Was it really so much to ask to know the man he’d been admiring for over a week’s name? In addition to that, he’d been mildly concerned that Levi hadn’t text him back the night before and had proceeded with the silence all day; it was strange not having his phone beeping at him every few minutes. Now he was suddenly asking Eren to meet up because he had to _tell him something_? He couldn’t help but think that was a little worrisome. His mind was jumping to the worst conclusions. What if Levi wasn’t real? What if it was all some fake persona made up by whoever had accidentally talked to him? What if Levi was real and had lied about having a boyfriend, but his boyfriend found out and read their text messages and could tell that maybe Eren had a slight (okay, totally not slight) thing for Levi and texted him from Levi’s phone asking to meet up so that said boyfriend could beat Eren up? That would be terrifying.

**From: Levi** _\- Wherever and as soon as possible?_

There was a sinking feeling in his stomach that he couldn’t ignore. What was so important? Why couldn’t he just tell him over text message or something? He thought on it while he, Armin and Mikasa met up with Marco and the rest of their friends who had already secured a table for them; Jean and his band would be on in just a few minutes.

He decided to just go with whatever Levi was planning. He’d just meet him in a public place, that’s all. And his friends would be close by. What’s the worst that could happen?

**To: Levi** _\- My friend’s band got a gig opening for a group at the Regiment Theatre. Their set should be over around 8:30? You could meet me here then._

The lights dimmed and there were some cheers from the crowd as Jean walked

**From: Levi** _\- I’ll be there._

Eren didn’t realize until the show ended that he’d never asked Levi where he would be.

 

*****

 

“Eld, you’re closing tonight. I have to go,” Levi ordered, taking off his apron and shoving it under one of the counters where Petra usually kept her purse.

Petra and Eld watched silently as he double-checked that he had his wallet and his keys before Petra spoke up, “Levi, is everything okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah, there’s just someone that I need to go meet.” He didn’t offer any other explanation; he just walked right out the door. It was 8:15pm, so he had fifteen minutes to reach the Regiment and find the brat with the beautiful eyes, find _Eren_. There was no questioning it now; Levi shoved his hands in his pocket to keep them from shaking. What were the odds?

The Regiment Theatre was a small music hall close to Trost’s campus; it usually housed smaller bands and local talent. Hanji had dragged him there for one of their open mic nights a few years before, and he remembered it being a pretty nice place.

He arrived less than ten minutes later and bought a ticket at the desk just inside the door. It was pretty inexpensive, but at that point, Levi probably wouldn’t have cared. The band on the stage was putting on a pretty good show; they were full of energy, bouncing around the stage and entertaining the crowd like it was five thousand strong all cheering their names. Their music wasn’t bad, either. Levi wasn’t usually one for indie rock, but he could appreciate a good lead guitar and catchy melody. He did, however, recognize the boy that he’d seen Eren with at his shop playing bass guitar.

The lighting was dim; he couldn’t spot the brat anywhere. That’s when he felt the nerves kick in. His immediate reaction was to head to the bar and get a beer, and that was really saying something. He hated beer, but he knocked it back quickly as the band finished up their last song and bid goodbye to the small crowd. The lights came up as some tech guys began to set the stage for the main act - whoever that was.

It didn’t take long to spot him in the light. He was standing up from a table to the right of the stage, saying something to the people that sat with him. The black-haired girl and the mushroom kid were there along with a group of people he didn’t recognize, but he didn’t pay them much attention. Instead, he watched with great interest as Eren started walking through the hall towards the front entrance, eyes searching.

Levi mustered up all of his strength and set his bottle on the table before going after him.

He caught up just before the doors. He wasn’t too sure how to approach the situation, so he just went for it. He simply stopped and called his name. “Eren!”

Eren froze and turned around slowly. When his eyes met Levi’s, the boy audibly gasped, his ocean eyes growing wide. Levi could see the wheels turning in the boy’s head. He took a couple steps forward before speaking. “Levi? _You’re_ _Levi_?”

“Small world, huh?”


	5. Chapter 5

“Small world, huh?”

He just nodded. And kept nodding. Eren knew he was staring. He was staring with his mouth hanging wide open, but he honestly couldn’t believe that the coffee shop worker was standing in front of him right now. He’d never been the luckiest guy, but he was now finding out that the guy he’d spent the past few weeks texting and the gorgeous man he’d been eyeing at Magnolia’s were one and the same.

Levi looked at him curiously. “Eren?”

“B-but you said y-you preferred tea!” Eren sputtered, running his hands through his hair nervously.

The man – Levi – shrugged, and Eren could tell that he was trying his best to keep a smile off of his face. “I do. We serve tea, too, brat. Not just coffee.”

“Unbelievable,” Eren mumbled, absolutely dumbfounded.

“Yeah, it-“

 “Is everything okay?” Eren asked suddenly. “You didn’t – we didn’t talk as much today as we normally do. I thought I did something wrong.”

It was Levi’s turn to look nervous. “I didn’t text you because… I was jealous,” Levi confessed after a moment.

“Jealous?”

“Jealous of the man you seemed so taken with,” he said softly. “I…I like you, Eren. I can’t remember the last time I felt this way. I had chosen you over the bright-eyed brat that kept coming to my shop and then I found out that you didn’t feel the same.”

“I did!” Eren exclaimed. “I mean, I do. I just thought that you would think it was stupid, since we’d never even met before and you didn’t seem to be interested in meeting. So I figured that I should give up and maybe try talking to…. to you.” He laughed. “That’s weird, isn’t it? We liked talking to each other, and we were crushing on one another-“

“I wouldn’t call it _crushing_ -“ Levi argued, but there was a distinct blush on his cheeks.

“But you like me,” Eren cut him off with a grin, taking another step forward, and then another, until he was standing merely inches from the shorter man. “And I lo-“

Eren was promptly shut up when a pair of soft lips pressed against his own. It was just the whisper of a kiss, delicate and gentle, but enough to make his head spin. It was over far too soon, and Eren opened his eyes when hesitant fingertips brushed his cheek. Levi was looking up at him, close enough to count the tones of blue and grey in Levi’s eyes. 

“Don’t get too ahead of yourself, brat,” Levi told him, his voice low.

“Eren?" 

Eren looked over to see Mikasa standing there, Armin and Marco not far behind. The others must’ve stayed at the table to see the next group. “Hey, Mikasa.” 

He could sense Levi’s discomfort before the older man even made a move to step away. Eren wound an arm around his waist to keep him close. He’d finally met Levi, finally had him within his reach. He wasn’t about to let him go anytime soon.

“Who’s this?” Mikasa asked as she eyed Levi warily.

“Levi, meet Mikasa, my sister. Mikasa, meet Levi, my…” Eren looked towards Levi, unsure of how to proceed. His sister had just seen them kiss in the middle of a music hall; he couldn’t exactly call Levi his ‘friend’. Truth be told, he didn’t want to.

“His boyfriend,” Levi answered for him. Eren looked down at him in surprise, but he only shrugged in response.  “If that’s okay with you?”

“Yes!” Eren exclaimed. “I mean…I would love that.”

 

Later that night, Eren lay in bed staring at his phone with a huge smile on his face. It had been there all evening. It had been there when Levi walked Eren home after the show and left him with a kiss on the cheek. It had been there when Eren danced around his room while getting ready for bed. And it was there now, as he sent a text to his _boyfriend_.

**To: Levi <3**– _I am so glad it was you._

**From: Levi <3**– _Me too. Dinner tomorrow?_  

**To: Levi <3**– _Are you asking me on a date?_

**From: Levi <3**– _Don’t make me ask twice._

**To: Levi <3**– _Okay. But I get to pick the place!_

**From: Levi** – _Like hell you do. I’ll pick you up at 7._

**BONUS SNIPPET**

Levi was not nervous. Eren had already agreed to be his boyfriend, right? Sure, they hadn’t gone on an official date yet, but they’d been talking for weeks. Everything would be fine. He knew what he looked like and had been attracted to both his personality and appearance long before the two were put together. 

As Levi stood in front of the mirror, assessing his outfit of choice, his phone vibrated from his bedside table.

**From: Eren** – _I don’t know what to wear._

**To: Eren** – _In most places a shirt and shoes guarantee service._

**From: Eren** – _But no pants? I’ve always thought that was kind of ridiculous. Like, so if I show up in only t-shirt, my underwear and flip-flops, they won’t kick me out?_

**To: Eren** – _I would assume that pants are a given unless you want to be arrested for public indecency._

**From: Eren** – _Please, I think it’d be more like a public service._

**To: Eren** – _Good point. Anyways, wear whatever you want. It doesn’t have to be fancy._

**From: Eren** – _You mean you’re not taking me to a five star restaurant?_

**To: Eren** – _Do you want to be taken to a five star restaurant?_

**From: Eren** – _Hmmm… probably not? That might be a little too fancy for me._  

**To: Eren** \- _Then just put on some clothes._

**From: Eren** – _Are you sure that’s what you want?_

**To: Eren** – _Down, boy. Let me at least buy you dinner first._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! This chapter has been sitting on my computer for a while because I never really knew how to end this. I always figured it would be short little fic, and I debated on ending it with "small world, huh?", but I felt like we needed a little bit more! It may be the end of this fic, but trust me, it's the beginning of a great relationship!
> 
> I will hopefully be updating TWx3 and CotG soon as well as maybe posting a new fic for the Yuri!!! on Ice fandom? Who knows! Thank you for anyone that has left kudos or commented during my hiatus.


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